[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. Con. Res. 2 Reported in Senate (RS)]
<DOC>
Calendar No. 153
118th CONGRESS
1st Session
S. CON. RES. 2
Commending the bravery, courage, and resolve of the women and men of
Iran demonstrating in more than 133 cities and risking their safety to
speak out against the Iranian regime's human rights abuses.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
January 26, 2023
Mr. Menendez (for himself, Mrs. Blackburn, Mr. Coons, Mr. Risch, Mr.
Lankford, Mr. Barrasso, Mr. Blumenthal, Mr. Booker, Mr. Cardin, Mr.
Casey, Mr. Cassidy, Mr. Cornyn, Mr. Cotton, Mr. Cramer, Mrs.
Gillibrand, Mr. Graham, Mr. Hagerty, Mr. Hoeven, Mr. Kaine, Mr. Kelly,
Mr. King, Ms. Klobuchar, Mr. Markey, Mr. Merkley, Mr. Murphy, Mr.
Padilla, Ms. Rosen, Mr. Rubio, Mr. Scott of Florida, Mrs. Shaheen, Mr.
Sullivan, Mr. Tillis, Mr. Van Hollen, Mr. Daines, Mr. Crapo, Mr.
Bennet, Mr. Hickenlooper, Ms. Collins, Ms. Hassan, Mr. Durbin, Mrs.
Britt, Mrs. Capito, Mr. Welch, Ms. Cortez Masto, Ms. Baldwin, Ms.
Hirono, Ms. Smith, Ms. Sinema, Ms. Warren, Mrs. Murray, and Mr.
Warnock) submitted the following concurrent resolution; which was
referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations
July 25, 2023
Reported by Mr. Menendez, without amendment, and an amendment to the
preamble, and with an amendment to the title
[Strike the preamble and insert the part printed in italic]
_______________________________________________________________________
CONCURRENT RESOLUTION
Commending the bravery, courage, and resolve of the women and men of
Iran demonstrating in more than 133 cities and risking their safety to
speak out against the Iranian regime's human rights abuses.
Whereas, on September 16, 2022, 22-year-old Mahsa Amini passed away in the
custody of Iranian ``morality police'' following a 3-day coma due to
wounds, including bone fracture, hemorrhage, and cerebral edema
consistent with severe beating, inflicted by the police for purportedly
wearing a hijab improperly;
Whereas, on September 16, 2022, Iranians gathered in the streets of Tehran to
protest the killing of Mahsa Amini;
Whereas demonstrations have since spread to more than 133 cities and 130
universities in Iran, where women are removing or burning hijabs,
cutting their hair, and dancing in front of Iranian security forces,
joined by their fellow Iranian citizens, in a call to end the Iranian
regime's systemic repression;
Whereas Iranian security forces have responded to such demonstrations with
violence and detentions, including detentions of journalists and
activists for covering the protests;
Whereas the security forces reportedly have killed more than 516 protestors,
including at least 70 children, although the number of injuries and
deaths is likely higher, but is unobtainable due to internet blackouts;
Whereas at least 19,200 Iranians have been arrested across Iran according to
official sources, and many thousands more have been detained according
to independent reports;
Whereas more than 60 percent of Iran's population is younger than 30 years old,
and the protests continue to be fueled by young people;
Whereas Iran's Revolutionary Courts have executed at least 4 individuals who
were involved in the protests, namely Mohsen Shekari, Majid Reza
Rahnavard, Mohammad Mehdi Karami, and Sayed Mohammad Hosseini, and have
charged at least 100 more individuals with crimes that are punishable in
Iran by death;
Whereas videos, images, and demonstrations have spread to social media platforms
and are an important way for the voices of the Iranian people to be
heard;
Whereas internet monitoring groups have reported that the Iranian regime has--
(1) caused near-total disruption of internet connectivity in parts of
Iran and partial disruptions in city centers; and
(2) blocked WhatsApp, Twitter, Telegram, Facebook, Instagram, and video
games with chat functions;
Whereas common protest chants include--
(1) ``Women, life, and freedom!'';
(2) ``Iranians die but will not be suppressed!''; and
(3) ``Death to the dictator Ayatollah Ali Khamenei!'';
Whereas the Iranian regime has a long history of structural and legal
discrimination against women, including barriers for women seeking
justice against domestic violence and criminal prohibitions against
women singing or showing hair in public and studying certain technical
subjects;
Whereas the Iranian regime approved of ``depriving one social right or more''
for any woman who posts an unveiled picture of herself on social media,
and, in August 2022, approved of enforcing mandatory hijab laws through
facial recognition;
Whereas, through misogynistic criminal statutes, the Iranian regime for decades
has detained and engaged in the ongoing persecution of women,
including--
(1) Saba Kord Afshari, who was sentenced to 15 years in prison for
posting videos to social media without a hijab and transferred into Ward 6
of the notorious Qarchak Women's Prison, which the Secretary of the
Treasury has identified as a place at which gross violations of human
rights take place;
(2) Raheleh Ahmadi, mother of Afshari, who was sentenced to 2 years in
prison for advocacy on behalf of Afshari;
(3) Yasaman Aryani, her mother Monireh Arabshahi, and Mojgan Keshavarz,
who were sentenced to between 16 and 23 years in prison for posting a video
for International Women's Day in 2019, during which they walked without
headscarves through a metro train in Tehran, handing flowers to female
passengers;
(4) human rights attorney Nasrin Sotoudeh, who was sentenced in 2019 to
38 years in prison and 148 lashes for providing legal defense services to
women charged with not wearing a hijab;
(5) Narges Mohammadi, a prominent rights advocate, who--
G (A) was sentenced to 10 years in prison in May 2015 for
``establishing an illegal group'', ``assembly and collusion to act against
national security'', and ``propaganda against the state'';
G (B) was arrested in November 2019 (on the second anniversary of
countrywide protests) and rearrested in 2021; and
G (C) had her prison sentence extended in October 2022 to 11 years
and 9 months;
(6) former Vice President for Women and Family Affairs, Shahindokht
Molaverdi, who was charged with encouraging ``corruption, prostitution, and
sexual deviance'', a common charge against women refusing mandatory hijab
laws, and sentenced in December 2020 to 30 months in prison for defending
the right of women to attend sporting events and criticizing the practice
of child marriage;
(7) 6 women who were sentenced by the Culture and Media Court of Tehran
in July 2022 to each serve 1 year in prison for the offense of singing
songs in public;
(8) Niloufar Hamedi, who was one of the first Iranian journalists to
report on Mahsa Amini's death, who was arrested on September 22, 2022, and
is being held in solitary confinement; and
(9) countless other women;
Whereas the Iranian regime consistently commits a range of human rights abuses
in addition to its systematic persecution of women and peaceful
protesters, including--
(1) unlawful or arbitrary killings and torture;
(2) trials without due process;
(3) forced disappearances;
(4) arbitrary arrest and detention;
(5) life-threatening prison conditions;
(6) transnational attacks against dissidents; and
(7) severe restrictions on free expression and the media, peaceful
assembly and association, and religious freedom;
Whereas Freedom House ranks the Government of Iran as one of the worst human
rights violators in the world, with a Global Freedom Score of 14 out of
100 and an Internet Freedom Score of 16 out of 100;
Whereas peaceful protests in Iran during 2022 have focused on grievances such
as--
(1) mismanagement of the economy and national resources;
(2) prioritization of funding for terror groups and pariah regimes over
social services for the people of Iran; and
(3) widespread political corruption: Now, therefore, be it
Whereas, on September 16, 2022, 22-year-old Mahsa Amini passed away in the
custody of Iranian ``morality police'' following a 3-day coma due to
wounds, including bone fracture, hemorrhage, and cerebral edema
consistent with severe beating, inflicted by the police for purportedly
wearing a hijab improperly;
Whereas, on September 16, 2022, Iranians gathered in the streets of Tehran to
protest the killing of Mahsa Amini;
Whereas demonstrations have since spread to more than 165 cities and 144
universities in Iran, where women are removing or burning hijabs,
cutting their hair, and dancing in front of Iranian security forces,
joined by their fellow Iranian citizens, in a call to end the Iranian
regime's systemic repression;
Whereas Iranian security forces have responded to such demonstrations with
violence and detentions, including detentions of journalists and
activists for covering the protests;
Whereas the security forces reportedly have killed at least 573 protestors,
including at least 71 children and 48 women, although the number of
injuries and deaths is likely higher, but is unobtainable due to
internet blackouts;
Whereas at least 19,763 Iranians have been arrested across Iran according to
official sources, and many thousands more have been detained according
to independent reports;
Whereas more than 60 percent of Iran's population is younger than 30 years old,
and the protests continue to be fueled by young people;
Whereas Iran's Revolutionary Courts have executed at least 7 individuals who
were involved in the protests, namely Mohsen Shekari, Majid Reza
Rahnavard, Mohammad Mehdi Karami, Sayed Mohammad Hosseini, Majid Kazemi,
Saleh Mirhashemi, and Saeed Yaqoubi, and have charged at least 100 more
individuals with crimes that are punishable in Iran by death;
Whereas security forces have used rubber bullets on protesters, which have
blinded many people;
Whereas thousands of young female students across dozens of provinces and
hundreds of schools have been the targets of what appears to be
organized poisonings;
Whereas videos, images, and demonstrations have spread to social media platforms
and are an important way for the voices of the Iranian people to be
heard;
Whereas internet monitoring groups have reported that the Iranian regime has--
(1) caused near-total disruption of internet connectivity in parts of
Iran and partial disruptions in city centers; and
(2) blocked WhatsApp, Twitter, Telegram, Facebook, Instagram, and video
games with chat functions;
Whereas common protest chants include--
(1) ``Women, life, and freedom!'';
(2) ``Iranians die but will not be suppressed!''; and
(3) ``Death to the dictator Ayatollah Ali Khamenei!'';
Whereas the Iranian regime has a long history of structural and legal
discrimination against women, including barriers for women seeking
justice against domestic violence and criminal prohibitions against
women singing or showing hair in public and studying certain technical
subjects;
Whereas the Iranian regime approved of ``depriving one social right or more''
for any woman who posts an unveiled picture of herself on social media,
and, in August 2022, approved of enforcing mandatory hijab laws through
facial recognition;
Whereas, through misogynistic criminal statutes, the Iranian regime for decades
has detained and engaged in the ongoing persecution of women,
including--
(1) Saba Kord Afshari, who was sentenced to 15 years in prison for
posting videos to social media without a hijab and transferred into Ward 6
of the notorious Qarchak Women's Prison, which the Secretary of the
Treasury has identified as a place at which gross violations of human
rights take place;
(2) Raheleh Ahmadi, mother of Afshari, who was sentenced to 2 years in
prison for advocacy on behalf of Afshari;
(3) Yasaman Aryani, her mother Monireh Arabshahi, and Mojgan Keshavarz,
who were sentenced to between 16 and 23 years in prison for posting a video
for International Women's Day in 2019, during which they walked without
headscarves through a metro train in Tehran, handing flowers to female
passengers;
(4) human rights attorney Nasrin Sotoudeh, who was sentenced in 2019 to
38 years in prison and 148 lashes for providing legal defense services to
women charged with not wearing a hijab;
(5) Narges Mohammadi, a prominent rights advocate, who--
G (A) was sentenced to 10 years in prison in May 2015 for
``establishing an illegal group'', ``assembly and collusion to act against
national security'', and ``propaganda against the state'';
G (B) was arrested in November 2019 (on the second anniversary of
countrywide protests) and rearrested in 2021; and
G (C) had her prison sentence extended in October 2022 to 11 years
and 9 months;
(6) former Vice President for Women and Family Affairs, Shahindokht
Molaverdi, who was charged with encouraging ``corruption, prostitution, and
sexual deviance'', a common charge against women refusing mandatory hijab
laws, and sentenced in December 2020 to 30 months in prison for defending
the right of women to attend sporting events and criticizing the practice
of child marriage;
(7) 6 women who were sentenced by the Culture and Media Court of Tehran
in July 2022 to each serve 1 year in prison for the offense of singing
songs in public;
(8) Niloufar Hamedi, who was one of the first Iranian journalists to
report on Mahsa Amini's death, who was arrested on September 22, 2022, and
is being held in solitary confinement; and
(9) countless other women;
Whereas the Iranian regime consistently commits a range of human rights abuses
in addition to its systematic persecution of women and peaceful
protesters, including--
(1) unlawful or arbitrary killings and torture;
(2) trials without due process;
(3) forced disappearances;
(4) arbitrary arrest and detention;
(5) life-threatening prison conditions;
(6) transnational attacks against dissidents; and
(7) severe restrictions on free expression and the media, peaceful
assembly and association, and religious freedom;
Whereas Freedom House ranks the Government of Iran as one of the worst human
rights violators in the world, with a Global Freedom Score of 14 out of
100 and an Internet Freedom Score of 16 out of 100;
Whereas peaceful protests in Iran during 2022 have focused on grievances such
as--
(1) mismanagement of the economy and national resources;
(2) prioritization of funding for terror groups and pariah regimes over
social services for the people of Iran; and
(3) widespread political corruption: Now, therefore, be it
Resolved by the Senate (the House of Representatives concurring),
That Congress--
(1) commends the bravery, courage, and resolve of the women
and men of Iran who are--
(A) participating in the current protests to defend
their fundamental human rights; and
(B) risking their safety to speak out against the
human rights abuses committed by the Iranian regime;
(2) condemns--
(A) the brutal beating and death of Mahsa Amini;
and
(B) the violent suppression by the Iranian regime
of women and men participating in the current
demonstrations, including children, and calls for
transparent accountability for all killings of
protesters by Iranian security forces;
(3) supports internet freedom programs that circumvent the
regime, including the Open Technology Fund, which provides
support for VPNs, proxy servers, and other alternatives that
can be used to bypass attempts by authoritarian governments to
censor internet access during times of protest, and commends
private entities willing to provide programs to circumvent such
censorship;
(4) encourages continued efforts by the Biden
Administration to respond to the protests, including the recent
sanctioning of the Iranian morality police, and further
encourages the Biden Administration--
(A) to immediately impose, under existing
authorities, additional human rights sanctions on
officials and entities responsible for the repression
of the current protests;
(B) to prioritize efforts to expand unrestricted
internet access in Iran, consistent with existing law;
and
(C) to work to develop a strategy to prevent the
Iranian regime from obtaining and exploiting facial
recognition data and software for the use of mass
surveillance and enforcement of mandatory hijab;
(5) encourages the private sector, following the recent
clarification by the Biden Administration of sanctions
exemptions on communications technology, to work with the Biden
Administration to ensure protestors and activists have access
to tools needed to circumvent government surveillance and
repression;
(6) encourages representatives of the private sector to
coordinate with the Department of the Treasury and their
subsidiaries to utilize licensing opportunities and expand
access of key communications services to Iranians residing
within Iran;
(7) welcomes the efforts of the international community to
support protestors in Iran, including by removing Iran from the
United Nations Commission on the Status of Women; and
(8) calls on the international community--
(A) to publicly condemn violence by the Iranian
regime against peaceful protesters;
(B) to speak out against violations by the regime
of fundamental human rights, including the freedom of
expression, assembly, and redress of grievances of the
Iranian people; and
(C) impose human rights sanctions on officials and
entities that are responsible for the repression of
current protests and involved in violating the human
rights of the Iranian people.
Amend the title so as to read: ``A concurrent resolution
commending the bravery, courage, and resolve of the women and
men of Iran demonstrating in more than 165 cities and risking
their safety to speak out against the Iranian regime`s human
rights abuses.'''.
Calendar No. 153
118th CONGRESS
1st Session
S. CON. RES. 2
_______________________________________________________________________
CONCURRENT RESOLUTION
Commending the bravery, courage, and resolve of the women and men of
Iran demonstrating in more than 133 cities and risking their safety to
speak out against the Iranian regime's human rights abuses.
_______________________________________________________________________
July 25, 2023
Reported without amendment, and an amendment to the preamble, and an
amendment to the title